Hankering for a taste of Illinois, the newly minted Texan turned to Marengo farmer Chad Nichols. Almost every week, Matthias clicks on the "farmer's pick of the day" from NicholsFarm.com, Nichols' online outlet for Illinois-grown fruits and vegetables.

Delivered in foam coolers for $40, the 20 pounds of produce includes whatever happens to be freshest, from delicate fruits in the summer to hardy fingerling potatoes and Russian kale in the winter months--all from Nichols Farm and Orchard, 65 miles west of Chicago.

Nichols' online specialty produce business is just a sideline for him, and it's among only a handful of online direct-to-farm produce connections nationwide. But the seed has been planted, and the emergence of sites like Nichols' is proving that even unlikely and perishable specialty commodities can sell on the Web.

"Consumers are frustrated with the quality and flavor of what they're getting in supermarkets and with the price/value proposition," says Karen Caplan, head of the California-based Frieda's Inc. specialty produce company, which sells through conventional retailers and handles about 1,000 Internet orders to non-commercial customers nationwide each year.

Driving the trend is a growing appreciation for the finer varieties of produce.

"This isn't the same as produce shippers like Harry & David," said Ed Baker, president of Earthy Delights, a Dewitt, Mich., produce purveyor who offers such mail-order rarities as baby pattypan squash and fresh fiddlehead ferns.

"This reminds me of wine 30 years ago, before people became knowledgeable about the different types," Baker said. "Now they know all about wines. That's what's beginning to happen here. It's all because of the phenomenal popularity of the Food Network and cooking magazines."

Bringing farmer's market-quality produce to infrequent farmer's market shoppers was part of Nichols's motivation for starting the business two years ago at his family's 300-acre farm.

The 32-year-old came up with the idea for selling locally grown produce on the Internet in 2002 while working at United Parcel Service and finishing an MBA at Keller Graduate School of Management.

"I didn't see much downside," said Nichols, who handles the packing and Internet sales himself. "I don't promise a specific item. It's whatever I've got in surplus. The only downside would be if packaging and shipping costs got out of hand, but they haven't."

Nichols intends to keep shipping year-round because the farm uses greenhouses and other winter growing methods. As of November, he had grossed just $3,300 this year, a tiny fraction of the farm's annual revenues.

The business is an extension of Nichols' elaborate fruit and vegetable operation, which serves many restaurants and other commercial dealers.

"You can tell them whatever you need and they'll grow it for you. As long as they can get the seeds, they'll try to grow anything," said Robert Burcenski, chef-owner of Tallgrass restaurant in Lockport, a Nichols customer.

David Cleverdon, who owns Kinnikinnick Farm, an organic specialty vegetable farm in Caledonia, about 80 miles northwest of Chicago, says he investigated shipping but rejected the idea. Kinnikinnick supplies upscale Chicago restaurants and farmers' markets.

"This has nothing to do with being a farmer and everything to do with becoming a shipping company," says Cleverdon. "I'd be worrying about containers, shipping, logistics. And the cost of shipping would almost equal the price of the produce inside."

"I might be spending $5 more a week to purchase this way, but I've got peace of mind," she said. "I know who I'm buying from."

Anyway, she added, the shipments add a welcome element of mystery.

"I love not knowing what I'm going to receive," she said. "I've learned to cook all kinds of produce I would never have bought like Jerusalem artichokes, cranberry beans and Brussels sprouts. It's expanded my horizons quite a bit."